I leaned forward, wanting nothing more than to kiss away whatever was worrying her, whatever was bringing those tears to her eyes, but she lifted a hand to stop me.
“Jameson, I don’t think we should see each other anymore.”
Elsie
The words were physically painful to say.
When he told me to make a wish, I wished with all my heart that I didn’t have to say those words—that we could be together without my fear getting in the way—but wishes were for children, and it was time to be an adult.
As the words left my mouth, Jameson went so still I thought he might have stopped breathing, but then he recoiled, his face scrunching in disbelief.
“What?” He pulled himself onto his knees.
I shook my head, sitting up. “This was the third date. I never promised anything more than this.”
“But—” he started, stopping himself when his voice cracked. “I told you I wanted more with you. I thought you did too.” He pointed at his house. “You wouldn’t have kissed me like that if you didn’t feel this thing between us.”
All I could do was shake my head again, shutting out his words. This entire evening had made this decision so much harder. Jameson had been determined to make me smile, and after fighting it for so long, I finally gave in, deciding to enjoy my last moments with him.
But I had to say goodbye. This had to end.
As much as I liked Jameson, and as much as I wanted to believe that things could work out for us, my fear had won. This was better than what would come later—the heartache, the resentment, the pain.
“You know we’re good together, Elsie.” He tried to take my hands, but I slipped out of his grip. “Why are you doing this?” His hands clenched into fists in his lap.
“I can’t be in a relationship.”
“Why?” he demanded. “Because of that fool, Benjamin?”
“No.”
“Is this about what happened with your parents?”
I flinched. “How did you…”
He sighed. “Maya called me earlier. She…she told me about your parents, and how you don’t want to risk falling in love because of it.”
Fury at my best friend made my stomach clench, and my hands fisted at my sides.“She had no right to tell you—”
“She was worried about you,” Jameson interrupted, crawling closer, taking my face in his hands. “Elsie, I know you’re scared of ending up like them, but what happened to them won’t happen to us. It’ll take work, like any relationship, but I know that we can figure this out. You don’t have to face your fear alone. Let me help you shoulder it.”
I closed my eyes against his words, against the hope flaring in my chest.
“I’m crazy about you. Don’t walk away before we’ve even tried.”
His words broke something in me. “And what happens when we end up fighting, Jameson? Will this nice guy façade disappear, replaced by vicious, cutting words?”
“Façade?”He gaped at me. “I have been nothing but sincere with you, Elsie. I’ve given you every reason to trust me, every reason to show you I could never treat you like your ex. Every couple fights. You will never find anyone who doesn’t. But we’d face it together—not with raised voices and hurtful remarks, but with patience and a desire to fix things.That’show you make real love work.” His thumbs wiped the tears from my cheeks. “Don’t walk away from this.”
Jameson’s words simultaneously soothed my every fear while stabbing my heart into a million pieces. I wanted to believe him. Smitten Elsie was practically begging me to give in, to stay here with him. My thoughts grew jumbled in my head, confused and swirling, and I couldn’t think straight.
Jameson must have taken my lack of response to mean I was sticking with my decision because he begged, “Please, explain this to me, Elsie. I need to understand why you’re putting an end to something so good. Soright.”
“But it won’t always be good, will it?” I demanded, a last-ditch effort to stick to this plan. “Eventually, one of us will hurt the other, and I would rather end things before that happens.”
He shook his head side to side. “Elsie, just because your parents gave up on each other, doesn’t mean that I would ever give up onyou.”
“Jameson,” I started, pulling out of his grip. I needed to get out of here. I needed tothink.
